You should also list all of your step-children under age 21, even if you are no longer married to their parent.

Your children: You must list all of your biological children and all of your adopted children, no matter how old they are.Your spouse: You must list your spouse, even if he or she doesn’t live with you and does not intend to immigrate with you.The country you currently live in is irrelevant for this question.

For “country of eligibility,” list either your country of birth, or-if you qualify to use your spouse’s or your parents’ birth countries-list that country.

If the country has a different name now than it did when you were born, use the country’s current name.

For “country of birth,” list the country you were born in, regardless of where you currently live.

Most of the questions are easy to understand however, there are a few places where these extra suggestions may be helpful: You fill out a form on the State Department’s website while it is available, from early October through early November. Participating in the lottery is relatively easy. The second major requirement for Diversity Visa applicants is that you must have at least a high school degree, or at least two years of work experience within the past five years in a profession that requires at least two years of training, as determined by the U.S.

If neither of your parents were legal residents in your own country of birth, you can choose your mother or father’s country of birth.

If your spouse was born in an eligible country, you can apply with your spouse and choose your spouse’s birth country on your application.

If your native country is not eligible, there are still two ways you could qualify for the Diversity Visa:

United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territoriesįor more information, the State Department provides a list of all eligible countries.

There is some yearly variation in the countries that are eligible, but Canada, China, India, Mexico, and the United Kingdom never make the list, because these countries all send a large number of immigrants to the United States.įor the 2023 application period, nationals from the following countries were not eligible to apply: In order to be eligible for the Diversity Visa, you must have been born in a country that sent less than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the past 5 years. There are two main requirements when applying for a Diversity Visa: 1.

Diversity visa photo tool